Oakland mostly quiet after Mehserle's release

It looks like a typical Monday in downtown Oakland much to the relief of those who live and work there. Most stores are open and no problems have been reported.

Some were afraid to come out Sunday when they heard people would be protesting the release of Johannes Mehserle from jail.

"I wasn't even around. I decided to just take a night to view it from afar, said Dawon Davis of Oakland.

Sunday's protest was passionate, but never got out of hand as demonstrators marched from the BART Fruitvale station to city hall. They believe Mehserle got off easy for the shooting death of Oscar Grant.

"A crime was committed but it wasn't paid for. This needs to stop and the only way it is going to stop is if we all stand together," said Oscar Grant's Uncle Daryl Johnson.

Mehserle's supporters said he did not get off easy at all. They believe he served the exact amount of time that anyone else would have served who was convicted of the same crime and point out he will be on parole. They say he is remorseful about what they call a horrible accident.

"He's out after less than a year, after his conviction. This shows the lack of accountability for police brutality that we face here in Oakland," Michael Flynn of the National Lawyers Guild.

Even though Mehserle has served his time, this is not the last you will hear of the Oscar Grant case. Demonstrators filed a lawsuit today against the Oakland police department claiming their rights were violated as they participated in protests against the Mehserle verdict.

"We were transported to jail buses and we were all held handcuffed on jail buses for hours at the Oakland jail before being put into a jail cell with inadequate facilities and all told we were held in custody for nearly 24 hours," said plaintiff Dan Spalding.

Spalding said he was never charged. There are 150 people in the lawsuit. The Oakland police department has not responded to ABC7's questions about the lawsuit.

Members of the Oscar Grant Coalition will hold a meeting later this month to figure out their next steps to keep the issue alive.